


Third Date

by Anon1Adult



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: "Magically Fluffly", Dating, Fluff, M/M, Stony Secret Santa 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 21:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon1Adult/pseuds/Anon1Adult
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dinner was largely uneventful, and for their third date that was exactly what they wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tekuates](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tekuates/gifts).



> This is a Stony Secret Santa gift to tekuates!! Who asked for something 'Magically Fluffly'.  
> I'll have you know, this almost killed me. 
> 
> (And I have a feeling tekuates might have ruined my life by inadvertently introduced me to Supernatural...)
> 
>  
> 
> This is unbeta-ed. If anyone wants to take a shot at let me know!

He got the text message just after 1:00pm.

' _Dress nice, I'll pick you up at 7:30_ ' 

Steve couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. He knew he probably looked like a fool standing there smiling down at the small lit screen in his hand, but he found didn't much care. 

He had a date with Tony. 

After almost 2 years of being in each other's space they gone from team mates to acquaintances, acquaintances to friends, friends to -well they weren't quite lovers yet but this was date three, so it was looking good. 

Tony had sent the text almost an hour ago but Steve had been busy trying to keep up with Natasha and Clint in the training room. They were still trying to figure out the best way to overwhelm him but the more they spared the more Steve learned their moves and the harder it was getting to get the drop on him. 

It was good exercise and they all felt as though they got something out of it so it became something of a routine. Three times a week when their schedules allowed it. 

As Steve headed to his suite he wondered what Tony was doing. Pepper had stopped by the tower earlier in the week to tell Tony, in person because he was ignoring all phone calls, that he had to be in the office in two days. 

She had used the 'C' word that Tony seemed to have a physical tick for: Client. 

They would be in town and wanted to see Mr. Stark in person before agreeing to any more negotiations. 

Seeing Tony dressed to the nines in his suit and tie this morning seemed like a fair trade for not being able to seeing him until tonight. He had planned on grabbing some take out and bringing Tony dinner if the Clients didn't insisted on dinner. 

 

Tony sat in, his personal opinion, the most comfortable chair executive boarding room furniture had to offer. Custom made and it'd better be comfortable for what he paid for the things. 

Elon Musk already had the designs for his electric jet it was just the matter of powering the thing. And just like the Merlin engines, Tony had to admit he was impressed. They guy knew his aerospace design that was for sure. 

They had gone over the safety guidelines of how the jet wouldn't be available for consumer use until it had been tested for at least a year, and had over 4000 hours of stress testing. 

It would take 2 years to actually get off the ground -no pun intended- having to abide by the FAA and such, but all and all the whole project felt like a win/win for both parties involved. 

Around 4:00 they had an agreeable contact worked out, and Elon had left all smiles when Pepper's secretary Bambi saw him out. 

Tony ran a hand through his hair. 

It was always exciting to work with someone who was so very intelligent and passionate about what they were doing, but it was exhausting in that  
Tony had to play nice. 

Pepper had not so subtly walked him to his office that he didn't know he still had on site. She set down a decent stack of papers on the desk. 

"You are a slave driver." He complained. 

"Yes, I'm a heartless overlord. Sit." He sat. 

"Pen." She handed him a decently weighted pen. 

"Read and sign." She commanded, her tone light as if she were talking with a child. 

The pile of papers in front of him had about 12 pages of text and awaited his signature on 5 of those pages. 

"You do know I have a date tonight right? Big, blonde, about 250 pounds of muscle. If I go missing he's going to come looking for me." 

Pepper raised an eye brown at him, "Are you threatening to sic Steve on me?" 

Tony didn't like her tone and if he were to tell the story he wouldn't mention the slight hesitation before he answered. 

"No." 

"Good, now read." With a sign Tony turned to the papers. 

 

At 6:30 Steve was standing in his closet looking at two almost identical suit jackets. 

He didn't dress up often, or ever, and go out. When he did it was a nice pair of slacks and a decent button up shirt that fit over his uniform. 

It hadn't take him long after being awake to find enormous comfort the protection his uniform offered. His face was becoming more recognizable and he'd been shot at twice already in seemingly plain clothes. 

He had managed the black slacks just fine but couldn't decide on a color of button up shirt. He knew blue looked good on him, but he had wore blue on their last date. 

He was staring at the section of closet with an array of colored shirts but hadn't decided which to try on first when Clint wrapped on his door and let himself in without waiting for Steve's answer. 

"Steve did you- have an explosion in your closet?" 

Steve turned to him with a grimace, "Help?' 

 

Three minutes later Natasha sat on Steve's bed as Clint played dress up. Handing him shirts and jackets to try and model for Natasha. 

They'd gone through five shirts before Steve caught onto Natasha's game. 

"It doesn't matter what I try on, you're going to say 'no' to all of them." 

Natasha treated him to calculating look and silence. 

"You already have one in mind don't you, which one?" 

She smiled and gestured to Clint. "Try the dark orange with a black tie." 

Clint handed the shirt to Steve and the tie to Natasha. 

"Remind me why I'm friends with you two again?" 

Natasha draped the tie around his neck and with a few precise movements tightened the knot to rest at his throat. 

"Better." Natasha announced stepping back. 

"Because without us you would have wore your uniform in public and drawn a lot of unnecessary attention." Clint answered him. 

Steve felt his cheek's flush, "That was one time." 

"Hydra kidnapped him that time if I remember correctly." Natasha said in a conversational tone to Clint. 

Steve felt his face get hotter, "We found their hideout didn't we?" 

Clint handed him the suit jacket and answered over him, "Kidnapped in broad daylight. And I think it was Stark that saved his ass just before they put him under the knife." 

Steve laid the jacket over his arm and buttoned his cuffs, messed with the button for far longer than necessary. 

"You both, are jerks." He informed them. 

Natasha leaned in and ran her hands over imaginary wrinkles on his shoulders. 

It was odd for Natasha to initiate physical contact but the gesture did calm of his nerves. 

"Only when you need the distraction." She told him softly. 

He gave her a grateful smile and shrugged on the jacket, checking his reflection. "How do I look?" 

"Like you're ready to seduce a billionaire." Clint told him. 

Steve's cheeks heated up again and Natasha laughed. 

 

In the time it had taken him to read the first contract, Pepper had stopped in with two more just as thick. 

When he finally set the pen down it was 7:03. 

"Steve, shit! Pepper!" 

Pepper was walking across the floor of his office, obviously having heard his first outburst. 

"Pep I've gotta call-" 

"A cab will pick Steve up, you just have to get to the restaurant." She informed him gathering the papers on his desk. 

"You are a god sent." Tony said as he grabbed his jacket that had been draped across the visitor chair. 

"Your car is waiting for you down stairs too." 

"I'm not paying you enough." 

"I'll talk to the CEO and see what I can do about that. She's probably going to say no, but I'll ask." She gave him a small smile, "Behave yourself tonight." 

Tony turned to look at her, "I'm always on my best behavior." 

"That's what I'm worried about." She said starting towards the door. 

"Pep?" She stopped and turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Thank you. For you know, not, leaving." 

"Oh Tony, you can't get rid of me that easily. And you need someone to put the fear of god in that man if he ever does anything to hurt you." 

Tony blinked at her aggressive words, knowing she meant every one. "Did you just threaten to instil morel values in Captain America if the need arises?" 

"Someone has to look out for you." 

"You have been spending entirely too much time with Natasha." 

Her smile told Tony that wasn't about to change anytime soon. 

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" 

"That will be all Ms. Potts." 

 

"What do you get a guy for their third date?" Tony asked as he handed Steve the small, bright bouquet of flowers. 

"You don't have to get me anything." Steve replied accepting them was a smile. 

"Lies." Tony told him as they stepped into the restaurant. 

They checked in their coats and by extension the flowers. 

They were seated in a beautifully decorated corner table, the lighting was soft and there was the light sound of an orchestra to break up the quiet mummer around them. 

Tony ordered them a bottle of wine without looking at the wine list. Then turned his attention to watching Steve look over the menu. 

He hoped he hadn't guessed wrong about the atmosphere and was not freaking Steve out. The guy just wasn't the type to over indulge, but he deserved it. 

Watching him now, he seemed a bit tense, his eyes roaming over the menu a few times and never actually reading anything. 

"How are you doing?" 

"I'm good." Steve replied, resting his menu on the table. "Slightly worried because you keep looking at me like I'm about to run out." 

He met impossibly blue eyes from across the candle lit table. _He_ was making Steve nervous with his nervousness. 

"It's nothing." Tony assured him. 

Steve rose an eye brown and settled a hand on the top of the table. He started tapping an off beat rhythm and it took Tony a moment to realize it was Morse code. 

' _Are you sure_ ' 

Tony couldn't stop the laugh from the gesture. Steve, always looking out for everybody else. 

"Yes I am sure." He watched the tension ease out of Steve's shoulders and a brilliant smile took over his face. 

"Good." 

Tony was suddenly very glad the electromagnet concentrated on the are around his heart because he didn't think it could compensate for skipped heartbeats. 

Dinner was largely uneventful, thank goodness. 

There was no call to assemble. The team had taken enough initiative to not try and contact them, like they had on their second date. 

Steve ordered the steak and Tony had the fish because Steve admitted he'd never heard of a fish by that name and the man was oddly quaint about trying new things. After the Thai food incident a few months ago, which Tony still blames Clint, his hesitation was sadly entirely rational. 

They talked about how well Tony's meeting had gone. 

Agreed next time they saved the day they would insist on keeping the thank you party a small event. "Good luck telling politicians they can't have an excessively costly party." Tony laughed. 

They talked about the armor's latest upgrades. 

The new material Steve was field testing for Tony as he played his role as a SHIELD consultant. 

They laughed over the comic books that had come out in their likeness, the action figures Thor seemed absolutely smitten with. 

They talked about some of the movies Steve had caught up on and the movies he was planning on watching next. 

Tony badgered him about his terrible taste in day time television. 

"Tony, they're not that bad." 

"Steve, baby, they _are_ that bad. I don't even watch the show and know that's the fourth time Melissa has ended up in the hospital." 

The waiter had replaced their empty bottle of wine with another as they were both drinking it. 

"Thought you couldn't get drunk." Tony gestured to Steve refilling both their glasses. 

His intense blue eyes pinned Tony in place before he dropped his eyelids to half mass and a playful smile settled over his lips. 

"That's true, but that's a terrible excuse to not enjoy this." 

He held up his cup before tipping his head Tony's direction and taking a drink. 

Tony laughed at his theatrics and after a moment Steve joined him. 

They watched each other laughing, their happy expressions lit by the single flame of the candle on the table between them. 

"I could marry you tomorrow and be happy for the rest of my life." 

It took Tony a long moment to realize he was the one who said it. 

Surprise flashed briefly over Steve's face before it settled back into the happy look he had been wearing all night. 

 

"Was that the wine talking?" He asked quietly. 

Tony realized instantly that Steve was offering him an out. 

This man, this incredible human being, was offering Tony a chance to take back was practically amounted to a lover's confession. 

Tony found he didn't want to take it back. 

He didn't want to deny Steve the knowledge that it was true. If Pepper wouldn't have his head for eloping he would suggest they follow through with his offer tonight. He knew _that_ was the wine talking but it did sound like an increasingly appealing idea. 

Steve caught Tony's expressive eyes and neither of them looked away. 

Steve was ok with whatever Tony's answer would be. That he had said it at all had Steve's breath catching. Tony might not yet be at the same level of affection that Steve had for the engineer but he had no doubt they would get there. 

"At the risk of sounding like a complete sap, that was the heart talking. But the wine is making a very convincing argument that 2,500 miles to Vegas isn't that far if we want to get married tonight." 

Steve laughed and when he closed his eyes he found that he had to keep them closed for half a moment longer to prevent tears for escaping. They were happy tears but he knew Tony would think he'd done something wrong if he saw them. 

The tears were taking a bit longer to recede than he'd hoped. 

He hadn't realized how much he'd longed to hear someone say they wanted him. The team that had become his new family had filled most of that void, but coming from Tony it just meant so much more. 

He opened his eyes as Tony's hand settled over his on the table. He stared at Tony's long fingers for a moment before taking a calming breath and moving his hand so their fingers interlaced. 

"I didn't mean Elvis if that's what you're upset about." Tony said in a quiet voice. 

Steve laughed again and a single tear escaped down his cheek. He quickly brought a hand up to brush it away. 

"No, it's nothing like that." 

He traced a path from their laced fingers up Tony's defined arm, hidden by a well fitted dress shirt, over his shoulder, up his neck to pause briefly on his lips, before looking into his eyes. He how he could have ever missed the loving look in Tony's eyes? 

"Do you want to get out of here?" Tony asked leaning forward. 

Steve didn't pretend to misunderstand his hidden question. "Do you think we can make it back to the tower?" 

Tony glanced at their interlaced fingers and felt the warm knowledge in his heart of Steve wanting him in return. "I probably can't." He replied honestly. 

Steve gently squeezed his hand, "Do you want to call a cab?" 

They could call a cab, but he had driven his Audi R8. The thought of leaving one of his babies in a strange garage all night was a horrifying thought. It must have shown on his face because another hand squeeze from Steve brought his attention back to impossible blue eyes. 

"That's what I thought." He said with a smile. 

They checked out their jackets and the sight of the flowers again fanned the flame of love he felt for the man beside him. 

The valet brought the car up and with a slide of hand Tony exchanged, a no doubt lavish, tip for his keys. 

He held the keys up for Steve to see, "Negotiation time. You are driving, but first you have to convince me to let you." 

Steve tried for a stern look but knew he completely fell short. "You've almost had an entire bottle of wine on your own tonight." 

Tony smirked, "I seem to remember you drinking most of it. But I was thinking of an exchange of goods. Something you have that I want." 

Steve moved forward into Tony's personal space. His scent filling Tony's nose until he felt like he wanted to bury his face in Steve's neck and stay there. 

He told himself he would be mad later as he had to look _up_ into Steve blue eyes. 

One of Steve's large hands came up to cup his jaw, then shifted to hold the back of his neck. Steve was so close he could make out the darker blue color around his iris, then Steve was kissing him. His every sense screamed 'Steve' and he wanted nothing more than to stay right here. 

Where his entire world narrowed down to the press of the body in front of him. 

A loud short car horn had them pulling apart with a gasp. 

They were still standing in the middle of the valet return. 

Steve gave an apologetic wave to the driver and took Tony's hand and lead him to the passenger side of the car. 

He unlocked the car and opened the door for Tony to get in. 

"So chivalrous." Tony teased. 

"Anything for my sweetheart." Steve said with a smile and a peck on the lips. 

A pleasant shiver went down Tony's spine with the nickname. It just came to easily to Steve's lips. Tony had to wonder how long he'd been waiting to say it. 

Steve's warmth had Tony moving closer, he tried to wrap his arms around Steve's neck but found himself with an arm full of flowers instead. 

"Did you just hand me-" 

"I did," Steve smiled at him and nodded to the open passenger door, "so we can go home." 

Steve walked around to the driver door and climbed in. 

Tony huffed in mock exasperation and got in as well. 

 

When they'd hit the main street Steve had taken Tony's hand and their intertwined fingers rested on Tony's thigh. 

The drive was quick due to the time of night and how light traffic was at the hour. 

Steve had accepted the flowers back once they parked the car and even more readily accepted the kisses Tony rained down on him after the elevator doors closed. 

As the elevator door opened to Tony's suite he slowly pulled Steve through the floor towards his bedroom, their mouths never leaving each other. 

Steve had deposited to flower on the kitchen counter as they'd passed and used both hands to settle on Tony's hips as they slowly danced their way through the apartment. 

 

After, Steve laid on his side, Tony tucked against his front, breathing steadily into his collar bone. 

Steve had lost his shirt and shoes somewhere along the way but had managed kept his tie and slacks. Tony lie beside him in his dress shirt, boxers and socks. 

Steve didn't want to think to hard as to how he arrived at this point in his life but he knew he would forever be grateful he did. He pulled  
Tony a little closer and dipped his head to press a kiss to the top of his lover's messy hair. 

"I love you." He whispered against the crown of Tony's head. 

His heart felt like it might beat out of his chest with how happy he was. That he could have this wonderful man in his life. 

"I love you too." came Tony's sleepy reply as he nuzzled the underside of Steve's chin on his head. "Still think Vegas might be the answer for us." 

Steve huffed a laugh into his lover's hair.


End file.
